AZ’s QB’s Part One: A Case for Leinart
Well, as the Arizona Cardinals wrapped up their mini camp this past weekend many were surprised by the effective play of QB Matt Leinart. Apparently he looked sharp, and did not appear to be rusty at all, a testimony to is study of the playbook and film during his time on IR this past [...]
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Posted by RaisingZona
Mike Duggan - co-lead writer - Born and raised in Phoenix, Mike has been a Cardinals fans since the day his family arrived in the desert in 1988. A sports fanatic, Mike is an active duty Army Officer who follows all Arizona teams religiously and is a firm believer in the home team. He also has his own blog page on FoxSports.com entitled “The Arizona Sports Forum” where he is more than happy to rant and rave about the Cards and their up and coming talent. Mike also played college football in the early 2000s for Army at West Point.
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Nice try, but you got everything wrong.
Drive? Leinart driven to the top of his profession? No. If he were, he’d have left USC with the Heisman and National Title and moved on to the NFL. All evidence points to him living in the past (college), rather than the future. Warner has the greater drive to succeed, since he knows he doesn’t have many years left. Leinart plays like he’s “pacing” himself.
Accuracy? This one I almost blew soda all over my computer screen. Warner is the 2nd most accurate passer in the history of the NFL (65.1%). Leinart is a 50% passer.
IT Factor? The Arizona Republic reports that both Fitzgerald and Boldin prefer Warner at QB. Maybe that’s because Leinart threw zero TD’s to Fitz in 5 games and only 1 to Q. Perhaps you meant some off-the-field IT factor???… but after seeing Matt manning a beer bong for chubby college freshmen and sporting a waxed chest in the hot tub — I image his IT factor is lost forever.
Youth? Youth is overrated. Leinart has suffered 2 season-ending injuries in his last 5 sacks! He’ll never make it to Warner’s age in the NFL. He’s simply too fragile.
Mobility? Neither is very mobile, but Warner’s mobility is shifty… like a cat. For example, the darting around the non-existent pocket at the end of the 1st half versus the 49ers buying time for Fitz to get downfield for that 55 yard bomb TD. Leinart’s lack of shiftiness too often gets him driven into the turf like a golf tee.
Bottom Line:
Warner was a top-10 rated QB in 2007. He threw 27 TD’s in only 11 starts (a Pro Bowl pace), and finished with a 89.8 passer rating. He averaged 310 yards per start, and in his last 8 games, he threw 21 TD’s and had the offense firing on all cylinders.
Leinart, in stark contrast, averaged 129 passing yards per game and was the lowest rated passer in the NFL (60.9). He threw twice as many interceptions as TD’s, and zero TD’s to Fitz.
In the NFL, you play for today. And the Cardinals’ best QB today is Kurt Warner.